Abstract

Strong astrophysical evidence supported by important fundamentals of Mathematical Physics suggests that a direct interaction between gravitation and electromagnetism does not take place in the empty vacuum space far beyond the solar plasma rim. A fundamental principle of Mathematical Physics, namely, that of the analytical Gaussian spherical surface law, applicable directly to gravitation as well as to electromagnetism, reveals serious flaws in the conventional understanding of gravitational lensing of the sun. The gravitational light bending effect predicted by General Relativity observed at the solar rim should theoretically be an easily detectable effect at distances of multiple solar radii beyond the solar rim. At analytical Gaussian spherical surfaces of radii 2R, 3R, 4R and 5R, respectively, each assumed to be concentric to the center of the sun, the light bending effects of at least one half, one third, one forth and one fifth of the observed light bending effect noted at the solar rim at radius R should be easily detectable effects within currently technical means. Applying Gauss's surface law directly to the enclosed gravitating solar mass, the gravitational effect on a given ray of light depends solely on the mass M enclosed. The evidence clearly shows that a gravitational bending effect on the rays of starlight is yet to be observed by modern Astronomy at distances beyond the solar plasma rim. Furthermore, the time resolved images of the rapidly moving stellar objects orbiting about Sagittarius A*, a region at the galactic core believed to be a super massive black hole, have not revealed any evidence of gravitational light bending. This is a region under intense observations by the Astrophysicists since 1992. A clear lack of observational evidence for optical lensing due to gravitation is apparent when examining the undistorted images of the stars moving along pure Keplar paths about Sagittarius A*. Astrophysical observations reveal that the stellar object s16 has a velocity approaching 3 % of the velocity of light when passing to within a periastron distance corresponding to 60 astronomical units from the black hole thus giving solid evidence that the space in this region has to be, without a doubt, an extremely good vacuum. The space in the immediate vicinity of a black hole is by definition an extremely good vacuum. The presence of any material media near the galactic core mass would conceivably perturb the motion of the stellar object s16 moving with fractional light velocities and would cause it to rapidly disintegrate. To date no sign of gravitational lensing has been observed in this region. {Refereed Paper: Astronomische Nachrichten, V328, N2, (2007), pp. 186 -191.} Powerpoint presentation